labahanOperations
How to write SOPs for your laundry shop (with a sample checklist)
By the Labahan team · October 18, 2026 · 4 min read
If the shop only runs well when you are there, the rules live in your head. Standard operating procedures (SOPs) move them onto paper, so every staff member sorts, washes, folds and receives loads the same way, even on your day off. They don’t need to be long or formal. One page per task is enough.
Why bother?
- Same quality every load. Customers notice when the fold, the smell or the bag changes depending on who is on duty.
- Faster training. A new hire learns from the page, not by guessing or by watching for weeks.
- Fewer arguments. When something goes wrong, you check the step that was missed instead of blaming a person.
- You can step away. A shop with written steps can run while you buy supplies or look after a second branch.
The four areas to cover
| Area | Example SOPs |
|---|---|
| Production | Sorting by color and fabric, washing, drying, folding, packing and tagging |
| Counter | Receiving a drop-off, weighing, writing the stub, taking payments, releasing loads, closing count |
| Customer service | Greeting, answering price and ready-time questions, handling complaints and missing items |
| Shop and machines | Opening and closing, cleaning lint filters, daily machine checks, weekly cleaning, reporting a breakdown |
Start with the tasks done every day, or the ones that cause the most complaints.
How to write one
- One task per page. “Receiving a drop-off load” is one SOP. “Counter work” is too big.
- Watch it done well first. Ask your best staff member to do the task while you write each step.
- Short steps that start with a verb. “Weigh the load.” “Write the bag count on the stub.” One action per line.
- Add photos. A photo of a correctly folded shirt, the right detergent scoop or a filled-in stub explains more than a paragraph.
- Say what “done” looks like. For example: “Stub number is on every bag.”
- Write the why for risky steps. “Check pockets: pens and lipstick can ruin the whole load.”
- Use the words your staff use. Short, plain sentences work better than formal ones.
- Print it and post it where the task happens: sorting rules by the sorting table, the receiving checklist at the counter.
Sample SOP page: receiving a drop-off load
- Greet the customer: “Good morning po!”
- Ask: wash-dry-fold, wash only, or special items?
- Check pockets with the customer present
- Note stains, damage or missing buttons
- Set aside items that need separate washing
- Count the bags
- Weigh the load or count the pieces
- Write the stub: number, name, phone, kilos, services
- Tell the customer the ready time
- Take payment or write the balance due
- Tag every bag: stub number and “Bag 1 of 2”
- Hand over the stub and explain pickup rules
- Put the load in its own basket for washing
- Say “Salamat po!”
Notice what is not on the page: long explanations. Those belong in training. The page is a reminder for the moment the task is done. For more on the checks at drop-off, see the pre-wash checklist and weighing every load.
Training new staff with SOPs
- Read it together. Go through the page with the new hire on day one.
- Show, then watch. You or a senior staff member does the task once. Then the new hire does it while you watch and correct.
- Sign off each task. Keep a simple list of SOPs with a date when the new hire can do each one alone.
- Start with low-risk tasks. Folding and packing first, counter and payments after they know the shop.
Training is also the best test of your SOP. If a new hire keeps getting a step wrong, the page may be unclear, not the person.
Keep SOPs alive: review every month
Once a month, take 30 minutes with the team. Look at last month’s complaints, mix-ups and machine problems. For each one, ask: was there an SOP, was it followed, and is it still right? Then update the page, write the date on it, and throw away the old copies so nobody follows the wrong version. A new price list, a new service or a new machine also means an update.
How Labahan helps
Labahan Manager includes a printable staff handbook and in-app lessons you can use as a starting point for your own SOPs. Staff log in with their own PINs and roles (Owner, Manager, Counter, Washer), and the app records who received and released each load, so when you review a mistake you can see which step and which shift it came from. The Board and claim stubs also build key counter steps into the daily routine: every load gets a number, a promised ready time and a status.
